Help - fleas in the house!

[AllLopsided]

We have two cats who are de-flead regularly but we spotted one or two on them a couple of months ago. Since then have repeated treatment twice but there a loads in the house now.

We thought we'd got rid of them by cleaning and using a spray from the vet on floors and furniture (not in U.K... it's called Flee!) But they are back and we're both covered in bites. We have removed the only carpet (rug) outside for now (it's been well sprayed). We are hoovering and steam cleaning rooms on alternate days. Steam cleaning was vets' suggestion as the heat should kill fleas.

The problem is I don't really know where they're living since we only have hard floors. In the soft furniture and mattresses? DH found lots in his bathroom, probably due to damp bath mats and big pile of washing!

I am spraying the edges of the rooms that have wooden floors (old fashioned hand-laid individual parquet tiles - plenty of nooks and crannies to get into!) and under the bed, and the sofa/chairs. If I use the spray on the tile floors it seems to just leave a grease slick which is not ideal (wooden floors are just super-slippy, which is slightly better!).

I have seen Indorex mentioned here - is that for the atmosphere or surfaces only? Does it leave floors slippy?

We are also wondering about trying the flea bombs (they are called foggers here). We have a sick cat who is being kept in (he's not going to get better, but is hanging on stubbornly 😺) so I think we'd have to split the house and do it on two days to keep him safe. But also worried that I'll have to clean everything afterwards. Thinking of my bedroom/bathroom - tons of skincare, perfume, make up, costume jewellery - do I need to put it all away or clean it all afterwards? Strip bed but let duvet be exposed? I noticed the Indorex site says the fleas can't penetrate mattresses to lay eggs but we have memory foam mattresses, are they different? And my clothes 😱 The foggers say leave cupboard doors open (except food cupboards) ... I have a large American style closet - there could easily be fleas in there. Do I have to wash everything afterwards? It will take weeks!!

Any other helpful suggestions welcome... it's a big house and I'm panicking (can you tell?)

Thanks all!

I have just been through this. Noticed a flea on dog1 and went full in on it but I was covered in bites.

I googled so much about fleas I’m an expert

1. treat pets - however, the treatment works by fleas existing, biting and then getting sick from the blood. So fleas have still bred. They say it’s 1 flea to 50 larvae.
2. flea bomb / fogger. I just got two on Amazon and did upstairs then downstairs
3. flea spray for furnishing - once fogger is done, go over every soft surface with spray
4. final type of flea spray for pet, I’m using Frontline spray, you spray down the dog and fleas jump off. Do this last.

We started Tuesday and did all the above and I think we are clear. Keep finding dead fleas about though haha

You need a prescription flea treatment from the vet. Shop-bought flea "treatments" don't work properly, if at all, because the fleas have developed resistance to the ingredients.

What do your flea bites look like? Worried might be dealing with similar

Thanks for the comprehensive advice @Spiderpl. Sorry you have been through it too. 1:50, that's scary! Have ordered foggers from Amazon, should be here middle of next week. Pets done this week. Will keep going with the spray till the foggers come so I feel like I'm doing something. Did you notice residue from the foggers on your possessions?

@VitoCorleoneOfMNMafia cats are treated with Efipro from vets (one you put on the back of the neck, and yes we're doing it properly. Have had cats in this house for 15 years and never had a problem before. We are v rural and Girlcat is always catching small critters so that probably doesn't help. A neighbour said she thought she'd seen some giant fleas this year!

@honeycookies The flea bites are little red dots, smaller and redder than mosquito bites (though pretty sure I have some of those too!). Ours are mostly on feet and ankles. They are super itchy... I can hardly bear to wear socks and shoes!

Indorex is your friend.
You may need two treatments a few weeks apart but it has never failed me.
Use it on carpets, soft furnishings (and everywhere else) 🤣. It doesn't leave any residue. We just keep the cats (and us) out of the treated areas for a couple of hours

Indorex here.

however also check your vet treatment is still worthwhile. We did frontline for ages only for one vet to finally tell us they had become resistant to it. Then moved to Stronghold and now another product.

effipro is Fipronil (ie frontline) and there has been some anecdotal resistance to this (in the UK anyway), I quite rate bravecto for fleas but depends on what’s licensed where you are.

Nothing kills flea eggs in the house so you have to hatch them out - by hoovering, steaming etc for two days - then kill them by doing a thorough Indorex spray of the surfaces (including as you have been, nooks and crannies, it’s not just soft furnishings).

Ask your vet for something stronger. Fipronil stopped working for Dcat last year and I had to go over to Bravecto.

We have had the same problem, effipro also stopped working. My poor dog was covered in them ( I had been away for 2 weeks and the dog sitter didn't notice her scratching) . It's taken nearly 2 months to clear them from the house. Hoovering every other day, spraying everything. We threw out all our cushions as that seemed to be a massive hiding place . I've washed every blanket &dog bed several times on 90c wash. We now have a collar and tablets from the vet and I am hoping this is it. We are overseas and apparently this is the worst year for fleas and ticks in my area

https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC5746801/

Thanks - as I said, resistance being reported is anecdotal (anecdotes being, in my 10 years as a vet, I’ve seen a lot of cats treated with Fipronil which had fleas). I think if you’re using a product and still seeing fleas, it makes sense to change!

That article is from seven years ago. It's entirely possible that the results would now be different.

And I understand that it's anecdotal but Frontline ceased to be effective for our cats years ago.

Indorex here too. Only thing that worked. Amazon has it.

The quoted text shows Frontline already not very effective on field (in other words, in the wild) populations of fleas

Frontline was useless.

Bravecto for the cats. A lot of Indorex spray for the house - I did all the skirting boards, nooks and crannies, carpets, rugs, anything the cats ever sat on, curtains... Ended up being a can per room.

But the fleas were gone.

Fipronil is the main active ingredient in Frontline.

Even with 96% kill rate, that's 4% that didn't die, at which point you are relying on the s-methoprene to stop them from breeding. So Tiddles is still bringing adult fleas in from outside. And fipronil spray is leaving almost a quarter of wild fleas alive...

I went over to Bravecto, vacuumed, used flea fogger. Don't use fogger in the kitchen, use spray instead if you have kitchen carpet.

As others have said change flea treatment for cats. Then call a pest company and have them fumigate. You don't need to wash anything afterwards, it won't harm you as you aren't a flea.

Try something other than front line - Advantage can be hit and miss but Bravecto or Seresto collar work. Then Indorex everything. Every sofa nook and cranny - the back, the sides, under the cushions. Move the furniture to hoover under it. Wash everything that you can - cushions, duvets, rugs, pillows, throws. Spray curtains as well.

Thanks so much for all the replies!

Had no idea that Effipro was the same as Frontline - should have checked the ingredients We have used Advantage and Stronghold in the past but the vets were really pushing the Effipro and stupid me, I trusted them! I've only just done the cats - I don't think I can do them again in less that 3 weeks? (Vets have been really good with sick cat so not quite ready to fire them.)

We are in France so specific recommendations for products from anyone here are welcome.

Indorex (Virbac) on Amazon.fr was €63!!! But Beaphar is €15 and contains

perméthrine, butoxyde de pipéronyle et (s)-méthoprène

The first two are the same as Indorex so will give it a go.

Annoyingly DH ordered Frontline spray from Amazon without consulting me

Update after more spraying and hoovering...

I am doubting myself about the date I de-flead cats. Best guess is 1-2 weeks ago... yes I know I should have made a note! Indoor cat definitely has fleas - he is scratching a lot and I brushed him for about 5 seconds today and got one flea and lots of dirt. I can't see any fleas on him unless I actively look so I suppose that's something.

It turns out I was using Effipro Duo not just Effipro. It contains pyriproxyfen as well as the fipronil - does that make it better? I'm guessing not as it's clearly not working! @VitoCorleoneOfMNMafia you seem very knowledgeable - if I can't get Bravecto at my vets what's next best? Can I give the cat another treatment so soon if it has different ingredients? If not, In the mean time should I try flea combing? DH wants to shampoo him (good luck with that) but I've read that that type of treatment (also sprays/powders for cats) only kills adult fleas so doesn't last long.

If I've sprayed thoroughly should I not steam again - will it remove the insecticide?

I'm guessing no point using a fogger until the cat is clear of fleas, except in rooms we can keep him out of?

Good news is cat-free bedroom has had every inch sprayed and it's been hoovered every day since - we only found one flea in there today!

If your vet gives you the runaround on a decent flea treatment, change vet.

If I've sprayed thoroughly should I not steam again - will it remove the insecticide?

It will destroy the insecticide to steam again.

@VitoCorleoneOfMNMafia thank you - I would change vets over this, except it is a big practice and the vet looking after our terminally ill cat is really great and has been following him for over a year.

Glad my instinct about the steaming was right!

Fleas love this heat! When you’re spraying your carpets take extra care around the skirting boards and stair treads.

@Ladybird69 they do seem to! Can't believe how quickly we went from a few to a houseful... I must have more than 100 bites Feel very sorry for the cat who is scratching like mad.

Almost no carpets, just one rug that's been banished outside for now. Otherwise tile and wood floors. We are religiously doing the corners and the gaps in the parquet.